The Minnesota Timberwolves point guard, D’Angelo Russell, will be traded back to LA Lakers in a three-team trade deal.
The NBA trade season is at its peak as the trade deadline ends today. Clearly, the Los Angeles Lakers, who are struggling miserably, desperately tried to make trades. After landing Rui Hachimura, the purple and gold made efforts to acquire Kyrie Irving from Brooklyn Nets. Irving asked the Nets to look for trade offers before the deadline. Furthermore, the Lakers and Mavericks drafted respective package offers.
While it seemed Kyrie Irving would most probably land in Hollywood, the Nets’ owner caused a roadblock and stalled the trade. Hence, Irving ended up with the Mavericks. However, the purple and gold have finalized a trade deal involving three teams just ahead of the February 9 deadline. Minnesota Timberwolves point guard D’Angelo Russell is all set to reunite with the Lakers after five years.
When Lakers Ousted D’Angelo Russell Due To Leaked Video Footage
The LA Lakers have reportedly indulged in a three-team trade deal involving Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz. The purple and gold will move Russell Westbrook to the Jazz and acquire D’Angelo Russell, and two draft picks from the Timberwolves. Russell, who parted ways with the Lakers in 2015, will reunite with the club after five years. Incidentally, in 2017, an ugly incident involving D’Angelo Russell and Nick Young led to the former’s ouster.
During Russell’s sophomore year, a video featuring D’Angelo and Nick Young went viral. In the video, Nick confessed to cheating with his then fiancee, an Australian rapper, Iggy Azalea, and boasted about his sexual activities. The video created a massive uproar on social media, and D’Angelo was isolated in the Lakers camp for snitching on his teammate. Moreover, Nick Young’s ex-fiancee called off their wedding. Later, the Lakers then president Magic Johnson took the fall and stepped down. Subsequently, the Lakers decided to part ways with Russell and moved him the following season.
Skip Bayless Take A Dig At D’Angelo Over His Past
While the 2017 controversy is buried and the water is under the bridge between the two players involved in the incident, Skip Bayless decided to reopen the healed wounds. Reacting to the trade news, the self-proclaimed NBA expert Skip Bayless targeted D’Angelo Russell over his past controversy with Nick Young and said the point guard seems to have learned his lesson as the Lakers have put its faith in him once again.
Obviously the Lakers are trusting D’Angelo Russell has learned from the 2017 incident with Nick Young that got DRuss shipped out of LA by Magic Johnson after he was the second overall pick in 2015.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) February 9, 2023
The trade is likely to be officially announced anytime soon. According to an ESPN NBA insider, the players have been made aware of the trade, and everything is finalized. The Lakers face the Bucks tomorrow. Hence, we expect Westbrook to miss tomorrow’s game. Meanwhile, the purple and gold have limited games left in the season and need as many wins as possible to stay in the contest for the playoffs. As of this writing, the Lakers stand 13th on the Western Conference points table with 25-30.
